What RPM range? 

6K to 8K.  Cams get lazy with no lift, so we have to spin'em up.  I am not the only one......there is a short list of those who can get the goods out of an iron head for the rules............ but with no rules to bind you..........the right CJ sized valves and the right valvejob and bowl cut goes a long way.  Seems like we did some "R" heads for a guy over in Dallas a few years ago with no rules and a little porting that made about 600 hp on his builder's dyno.  I sent them the heads, flat tappet cam, and other parts, and they assembled it.  I think it was a 445 best I remember, but iron heads, anyway, and between 6000 and 6500 rpm peak.

I was using some pretty spiffy valves also.  The exhaust valve is a combo I have been tweaking for a long time.  Valve shape can make a huge diff in the middle of the range on the exhaust side, but that is one nice exhaust port for an as-cast part.

I've got some flow numbers on the BBM head.  I did what I'd call a ".600 lift" valve job on the head.  I figure a guy with more cam than that is going to port the head anyway.  I try to do whatever I do to a head with the end-use on my mind.  I approached this test with a street to street/strip flat tappet or hydraulic roller on my mind, with a max of .600 to .650 lift and a minimum of .500 lift.  I measured the throats, and a 2.15/1.600 combo will clean up in the bowls with a reasonable throat percentage.  I had some nice 2.20/1.65 stuff here on the shelf, so I did my work with the latter.  I sized all of the guides in the head while I was at it, and it took about fifteen minutes to get within .0002 of where I was going.  It will take another 15-20 minutes to get them to finish size.  They worked like everyone else's guides that I do the same work to.  Carbide is a wonderful thing on manganese bronze.  I did the valvejob, and I left the throat fairly small for a 2.20 valve..........just enough to kiss the aluminium under the seat ring.  No grinding in the bowls at all.  I did blend slightly on the short side.........again just enough to remove any mismatch as the short turn breaks over..........say from about 4:30 to 7:30 of the circle, just on the short turn side, right at the bottom of the seat ring.  Nothing was done on the exhaust underneath the valvejob, except a touch with a 80 grit roll just to knock the machined edge off at the bottom of the seat ring, on the short side.  I did a slight blend right at the spark plug on the top side of the intake seat.  It took nine minutes to do the extent of the "touch up" on one cylinder.

I flowed on a 4.200 bore plate.  Looking underneath, the chamber will not be unhappy on smaller bores.  There was a noticeable "ledge" so I'm sure a stock 390 bore would be just fine with the as-cast chamber.  The valve spacing also allowed the 2.20 valve plenty of room on the cylinder wall side of the chamber.......I don't see any problem using the 2.20/1.65 combo on a 390 bore.

Intake:

Lift                   Flow

.100                    90
.200                  157
.300                  212
.400                  254
.500                  282
.600                  288
.650                  292
.700                  295
.800                  300



Exhaust:

Lift                 Flow

.100                    77
.200                  124
.300                  165
.400                  190
.500                  210
.600                  225
.700                  230
.800                  235      (no pipe.......just blowing right out of the head)

Doug,  that is the "sleeved" firewire.  I did not shrink the rubber seals on, just in case Wade wanted to trim the wires to reroute in the car.  Those are the universal set w/135 degree boots.  I really like them.  You can get them with or without the sleeves, but I figure they will last longer with the extra insulator.  Most "Cup" cars run them, and they seek out the best endurance parts...........

If it is a power brake and automatic, I have one I really like.  Jay is right........hydraulic roller is the only way to go.  I have a custom grind that I use for power brakes, low or no stall converter, heavy tow, etc.  It makes plenty of vacuum, fairly lopey idle when it is cold.  When it warms up, it will sound much milder but still "counts 'em off".  You could email me.......captcj   at    hughes  dot net.  May be the weekend before I can get back to you.

On older or used manifolds, we glass bead them, then wash with simple green, and then tumble the manifold.  Depending on how long it is tumbled, it can look like new, or like the "Endurashine" that Edelbrock sells, or like Wade White's 3X2......there are some pics of the "inbetween" on his manifold on this forum and on the FE Forum.  Any kind of paint or clear will come off eventually, and blasting only will make it a trash magnet.  The tumbling closes the pores up and helps prevent staining.  Brake parts  cleaner and a towel will wipe fuel stains right away!

Nice Nice!  We have a '69 G hull Rayson Craft that my dad bought off the showroom in 1969.  Ours has a HMS-prepped High Riser in it.  Like you, when time allows, it will go back in the water.  Mine is still in great shape.  The color scheme is the exact opposite--white with metallic blue stripes.  Those boats are "safe" to about 100 mph with enough engine, and right conditions.  Yours most likely has a 12 degree strut, which tends to make the rear of the boat lift at high speed, which is not what a person wants to happen in a V-drive.  With 18% overdrive and a 2-blade prop, ours would kiss 100 mph back in the day.  Three blades are the ticket for normal runabout duties.....Probably 11 diameter 15 pitch and 18% overdrive.  A good 390 will get close to 80 mph like that, and do it safe.  If you need any ideas on plate adjustment or other v-drive stuff, let me know.  I have a huge soft spot for a good V-drive.....you never get over the whine if you grew up in one!

Those hulls make a great ski-boat.  The later design Cole and Hondos with 7,8,9 degree drop-through struts, adjustable plates, and runner bottoms are the deal for high speed, but the engines stick way up in the boat, and there is no back seat room.  The Rayson Craft is super for what you want it to do.  Do the hydraulic roller, even if you have to put 21% gears in it.  It will spend lots of time idling around.  There were no "strokers" when I was a kid.  A guy might find out a 500 incher with 29% gears would cruise at 60 mph and not break the wallet.

Hey, not Wade but I can answer.  I used a 500 circle track carb in the center, and two 350 circle track carbs on the ends.  It takes about four days for me to "convert" and tune them, and get the linkage right.  I use most of an OEM style linkage, but I made a new primary linkage rod, and I also use some easy-to-get Holley linkage ends and clips to hold it all.  Maybe Wade can shoot you a close-up of the linkage arrangement.  No rocket science on that, but a fair amount of time.  It takes some time to mill the air cleaner bases also, but we have "new" stuff this way.  We also changed the boosters, and I do some stuff in the metering blocks to help the fuel curve and economy.